Madcap Laughs

The Madcap Laughs is the result. The first (and best) of Syd's two proper studio albums.

There's not a bad track on it. There's "Terrapin" with it's hypnotic drift. There's "Love You" with its poppy melody, chirpy piano and verbal diorrhea lyrics. There's emotional moments like "Dark Globe" and "Late Night", which Syd would never have tried on Piper at the Gates of Dawn. There's guitar fuzz on "No Man's Land". "There's No Good Trying", a loud piece of psychedelia with great drum work, "Here I Go" is Syd's reaction to being kicked out of the Floyd, "Golden Hair" is poetry in motion (literally), "Long Gone" could have sat well on a Pink Floyd album, with its wailing choruses and organ. Even the out of tune "If It's In You" is loveable. It's so bad it's good. You can hear what he's trying to do and how he's doing his best. It shows how difficult it was to record Syd, given his delicate mental state.

This isn't your average pop, rock or folk music. This is a journey. A journey inside a broken mind. Syd Barrett is still whimsical, he's still kind, he's still humourous. He's just a little hurt and a little confused here. Creatively, he's as good as he was on "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", if not better.

I recommend this album to Pink Floyd fans, and those looking to try something out of the ordinary. If you are a music fan who likes every note played perfect, every word on key, an even tempo and polished production, you'd better leave this record alone. It's ragged, but such a wonderful ragged. Even though Syd isn't quite all there, he does the best he can, with humour and with honesty. Good on him!

(The import release is worth it for the bonus tracks. The take of Octopus, an acoustic version, is pretty strong as far as Syd goes. The alternate "It's No Good Trying" is a lot more delicate and jangly that the fuzzy official version. Without all the drums and overdubs, you can hear the chords pretty clearly, which is good for all those musicians out there wanting to know what makes Syd tick. The two takes of "Love You" show just how very different Syd played the same song each time, and just how much of his madness was actually rehearsed. "She Took a Long Cold Look at Me" has a few false starts tacked on the front, and shows Syd struggling to keep level headed. The album ends with a ethereal four track take of "Golden Hair" that features fragile harmonies from Syd. It's better than the takes on Opel by a long shot. Hardcore fans will appreciate these tracks the most.)